Darts glossary
This glossary covers the terms and slang you are most likely to hear around a dartboard in Britain.
Equipment
| Term |
Meaning |
| Arrows |
Darts |
| Barrel |
The metal body of the dart that you grip |
| Shaft or stem |
The piece between the barrel and the flight |
| Flight |
The fins at the back that steady the dart |
| Tungsten |
The dense metal most barrels are made of |
| Oche |
The line you throw from |
| Wire or spider |
The metal frame dividing the segments |
| Bed |
One section of a segment, such as the treble 20 bed |
Scoring
| Term |
Meaning |
| Ton |
A score of 100 |
| Ton-forty |
A score of 140 |
| Maximum |
180, three treble 20s |
| Bed and breakfast |
26, made up of 20, 5 and 1 |
| Three in a bed |
Three darts in the same segment section |
| Shanghai |
A single, double and treble of the same number in one turn |
| Bull |
The centre of the board. The outer bull scores 25, the bullseye 50 |
| Bounce out |
A dart that hits a wire and falls. It scores nothing |
| Robin Hood |
A dart that sticks in the back of another dart |
Finishing
| Term |
Meaning |
| Checkout or out shot |
The darts that finish a leg |
| Double out |
The rule that a leg must end on a double |
| Double in |
A rule that you must hit a double before you start scoring |
| Game shot |
The call when a leg is won |
| Bust |
A turn that scores too many, leaves 1 or fails to finish on a double |
| Madhouse |
Double 1, the last double you can be left on |
| Big fish |
The 170 checkout |
| Bogey number |
A score that cannot be finished in three darts |
| Tops |
Double 20 |
Matches
| Term |
Meaning |
| Leg |
One game of 501 |
| Set |
A group of legs, often best of five |
| Break of throw |
Winning a leg in which your opponent threw first |
| Bull up |
Throwing at the bull to decide who starts |
| Mugs away |
The loser of the last leg throws first in the next |
| Chalker or marker |
The person keeping score |
| Average |
Points scored per three darts |
| Nine-darter |
A leg won in nine darts, the fewest possible |
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